The Goodfellas star left the project, a cinematic version of the 80s BBC drama, after just two days on set due to "creative differences", according to Daily Variety.

And now Winstone, who was last seen alongside Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is now in talks to star alongside Mel Gibson in the Martin Campbell film.

The English actor is likely to star as a government operative dispatched to clear away compromising evidence resulting from the murder of a woman, while Gibson is return to acting for the first time in six years as her detective father.

The BAFTA-winning BBC miniseries featured Bob Peck as a policeman whose activist daughter is murdered in front of him.

When he delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a dense conspiracy of government intrigue and nuclear corruption.

It was revealed in April that Gibson was to commit himself to Edge of Darkness after being impressed by a pitch from director Campbell and screenwriters Graham King and William Monahan.